Gladiator II
There are not a ton of Oscar winning movies that have gotten sequels, especially over 20 years later. However, director Ridley Scott has done it with Gladiator II, a sequel to the Oscar winner from 2001.
According to IMDB, “After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.“
I was disappointed with this movie. I had not expected it to be anywhere as good as the first film was, but this was considerably lesser than that movie. There were several problems with the movie.
Before I get into the negatives, there were some good things about the movie. I did not hate this film, and they did have some good things. Starting off with Denzel Washington, who is as good here as he always is. Denzel was excellent as the manipulator/villain of the piece and he brought that slimy feel to him.
Another positive for the film was most of the action was pretty good. The fights are brutal and well constructed, especially the hand to hand battles and the swordplay. There was some cool animal fights too. I saw a criticism that the Romans may not have used them in the coliseum and I could not care about that at all. Most of the animals were awesome.
However, there were sharks too and that was just one of the most ridiculous of all the animals involved. That was easily the worst coliseum scene we got.
So the problems. First, the film is too long. You could have trimmed 15-20 minutes off the run time of the film and make it feel tighter. Next, the writing, specifically the dialogue, was just not very good.
Another major issue I had was the first ten minutes, which nearly lost me. There was a weird, almost James Bond type introduction and I felt like it was such a waste. The classical music was great, but what was the purpose of this? Then, the story started and they introduced Lucius’s wife, who was an archer, and I immediately thought to myself that there was no way she was making it through the movie, and I was proven right almost immediately. The problem with that was that they tried to make this relationship the key to Lucius’s anger, but we barely got to know her so I did not feel anything when she died.
I liked Pedro Pascal in the film, but I felt like his character was muddled and inconsistent. The twin emperors, played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, were cartoon characters and out of place in this movie. Paul Mescal is fine as Lucius, but his motivation was shaky too. Was he anger over his love’s death or something about his mother?
As I said, I did not hate this movie, but I did not like it much. It lost me early and was never good enough to pull out of the spiral. The original Gladiator is considered one of the best films by many, so you should go watch that. This one is just not up to snuff.
2.8 stars
How to Train Your Dragon Teaser Trailer LIVE Action
This is short and looks like a shot-for-shot remake. This will make all the moneys…
Shrinking S2 E7
Spoilers
“Get in the Sea”
Shrinking is one of the most consistently entertaining shows on any streaming service. It has both genuine laugh out loud moments as well as moments of deep drama and emotion. Both of which came out in “Get in the Sea.”
Jimmy spent the day with a patient of his. He took the man along with him through the entire day to show him that is is able to approach new things. However, at the end, Jimmy saw Alice, Brian and Louis laughing at a restaurant together. It was quite a cliffhanger and should bring some emotional fireworks next week.
Mac kissed Liz and sent her marriage to Derek into jeopardy. Paul convinced her to tell Derek the truth because secrets have a tendency to come out. Unfortunately and understandably, Derek does not take it well. Ted McGinley showed some solid work here with a characters that has always been a part of the comedy.
Brian and Charlie decided they were not ready yet to adopt a baby after they found out that they could have a child the next day. It sent them both into a panic mode. This is where the title of the episode came from as Derek2 had them all go into the ocean and work through their problems. Jimmy’s patient came up with a solid bit of advice, as he had to be out in the ocean too.
There was not enough Harrison Ford in this episode, but he steals every second he is on screen, I swear.
EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week
Week of November 9
Monster week! I got over 40 books this week and I had to pick out a bunch of potential medalists from this pile. I had to narrow down double digits of books to the three medal winners.
Bronze Medalist
Space Ghost #7
Cover art by Francesco Mattina
Dynamite’s Space Ghost series has had a ton of great covers. Of course, when you have 18 covers, your odds sort of increases. Of course, this is still a wonderful cover with Space Ghost kicking some butt.
Silver Medalist
The Immortal Thor #17
Cover Art by Alex Ross
EYG Hall of Famer Alex Ross is back in the medals. He has been one of the biggest cover artist of the year so far. The Grey Gargoyle fighting with Thor with some beautiful purple and pink colors exploding from the page.
Gold Medalist
Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames #3
Cover art by John McCrea
I love the design of the character and the background. Again, I do love some white in the background and then the Dutch angle of the background makes things even more uncomfortable with the scary looking Dead Eyes. Great cover.
Yellowjackets S2 E9
Spoilers
“Storytelling”
I thought there were two more episodes remaining in season 2 of Yellowjackets, but it turned out that episode nine was the season finale of this show that has been so wildly entertaining and nearly as disturbing.
“You know there’s no it, right? It was just us.”
This line was spoken by Shauna after she drew the Queen card as the six women re-enacted the “hunt.” procedure from the wilderness. This whole thing was odd since they all seemed to put on the masks and chase after Shauna, even though they had spoke about turning Lottie back in for her mental illness. Would they have killed Shauna? What is with these women?
The way that these seemingly normal women turn into wild savages is one of the most disturbing aspects of this show for me. I did not understand why Tai, Van, Natalie and Misty put those masks on and grabbed their weapons and chased Shauna. I understand why Lottie did it… she’s bat shit crazy. The others? Just does not make sense.
Back to the line that Shauna stated. “You know there’s no it, right? It was just us.” implies that there was no magical ‘wilderness’, no “IT” in the darkness. It was the choices that they made that created the darkness.
Such as eating poor Javi. Everyone jumped right in, including Travis. Only Ben was seeing somewhat straight. I thought Ben did not have long for the series, but maybe he has more than we thought. I still have not seen him in the present day, but that does not mean that he did not survive the trip. And it sure seems as if he set that cabin on fire, trying to trap the girls inside.
I couldn’t believe that Natalie died in the present as she stepped between Misty and the cult member she had befriends (with the fish). Misty was going to stab her with the poison, but Natalie put herself in the way, taking the needle and thus dying. Seeing her afterlife aboard the airplane with images of her younger self, Javi and past Lottie was frightening. I was shocked with this death and I wonder how it will project the story forward.
The whole Adam storyline seems to be put to bed by Walter, framing and killing Kevyn for the crime. Some of these characters are very likable, and yet downright psychotic. No matter what… Walter and Misty are the perfect match and that scares me a little.
I think I prefer the idea that there is not an evil, malevolent force in the wilderness making these decision, but that it was these girls looking for some sort of way to survive and justifying what they did in their own minds. How accurate… truthful… is anything that we have seen in the crash timeline? Is this an example of an unreliable narrator, showing us what these girls had made inside their minds.
“You know there’s no it, right? It was just us.”
Lottie’s response?: “Is there a difference?“
The X-Files S7 E7
Spoilers
“Orison”
One of the most fascinating aspects of the X-Files has been the inclusion of religion and faith into the story. Fox Mulder, who believes in just about anything and everything, has a blind spot where it comes to God. To a point where he has been dismissive of spiritual belief over the years. Meanwhile, Dana Scully, the skeptic, the agent placed on the X-Files to debunk the craziness of Mulder’s work, believes in God and Heaven. This strange dichotomy continued in this episode “Orison.”
This episode was basically a sequel to the second season episode “Irresistible” where the character of Donnie Pfaster originally debuted.
The episode really brought it home as Pfaster kidnapped Scully with the intention of killing her, as the one who got away. Scully fought hard, and I was absolutely rooting for her as she showed some solid attack moves. Of course, stopping to try and use the phone was an error in judgment. She should have just found something to pummel Pfaster into oblivion.
I loved how Scully was able to get herself free and did not require Mulder to save her, even though he arrived and held a gun on Pfaster, she was already loose. Then, the dramatic scene where Scully shot Pfaster multiple times was surreal.
Was this out of character for Scully? Maybe, but it is absolutely understandable. This character of Scully has had plenty of close calls and this one felt even more personal. When Scully worried that it was not God that had spoke to her to kill Pfaster, that was chilling.
I would have liked more with the priest who had helped free Pfaster. The titular character, Orison, was a bit of a toss aside character in a story where his presence was vital.
I am never a huge fan of the religious based episodes of the X-Files because it feels as if Mulder’s total denial of God does not fit his character, but this focus on Scully made this a worthwhile episode.
Yellowjackets S2 E8
Spoilers
“It Chooses”
This show has gone absolutely crazy.
After Shauna went all psycho on Lottie last episode, it did not seem as if this show could get any wilder. Then it did.
The wilderness crew decided that they needed to off someone else to be able to survive. They drew lots and it was Natalie who was the loser. The savage crew chased after Natalie with the intent of killing her and eating her.
Man, crazy.
Instead, it turned out to be Javi instead, who was just trying to help save Natalie and he fell through the ice and drowned. The crazies could have pulled him out, but they decided to let him go so they could eat him.
I mean… what the hell.
Poor innocent Javi was clearly not in the present day, so you knew something was going to happen to him, but this was horrendous. I wonder how Travis will respond to this, since it was him that helped Natalie get away. When he finds out that they could have saved his brother, how will he react. We know he survived until the present day.
In the present day, the six survivors got everything out into the open at Lottie’s cult (or spa as Jeff called it) and decided that they needed to let “it choose.” This is another crazy moment as Lottie poured one glass of poison among six glasses. She believed that they had to let it choose which is what it has wanted from the start.
This is the evil that Natalie had spoke about bringing back with them last episode and that has been all around everyone here.
It feels as if we are heading toward that first scene that kicked off this show in season one. Yellowjackets has been a truly disturbing series and I love it. I may try to finish up season two tomorrow night. Season three is coming in 2025.
The Greatest American Hero S2 E6
Spoilers
“The Beast in the Black”
I haven’t watched an episode of The Greatest American Hero is quite awhile. There were a couple reasons why. One, I have been watching a bunch of shows over the last couple of months and the schedule has been tight. But the real reason was the previous GAH episode I watched was probably my least favorite of the series so far and it kind of stunted me on the show.
However, watching season two, episode six reignited my love of the show. This episode, entitled “The Beast in the Black” was one of the best ones of the series so far.
Ralph recruits his students to come to an old house, scheduled for demolition, with the understanding that whatever they were able to salvage from the location would be theirs to sell. Ralph discovered a hidden safe and he and Maxwell went to the house before the kids to see if they could get into the safe, using the suit.
Ralph was seeing strange things, such as a fireplace that had a fire in it that Maxwell could not see. Turned out that the house was haunted by a wayward spirit and Maxwell had a bronze chandelier dropped on his head, killing him. At this point, the spirit, a woman, entered Maxwell’s body and possessed him.
This was a lot of fun and some of the special effects were funky. For the early 1980s on TV, this was very well done. Ralph had to go through a 4th dimension guarded by the Beast in the Black, in order to save Maxwell.
This was unlike any other Greatest American Hero episode we had seen before and I really found this to be creative and enjoyable. I thought this was excellent.
Yellowjackets S2 E4, E5, E6, E7
Spoilers
“Old Wounds”
“Two Truths and a Lie”
“Qui”
“Burial”
Sunday night and I got into a run of Yellowjackets on Showtime. Season two had some real gut punches in it, many of which centered around Shauna.
Seriously, the section of episode 6 that dealt with Shauna’s birth of her baby boy was traumatic in all the best ways possible. It left me with a hole in my gut that just was painful. Seeing the baby born successfully only to find out that the baby did not survive childbirth was horrendous. Some of the imagery from this section was tough too, especially the scene where everyone was devouring the baby.
Plus, the absolutely brutal assault by Shauna against Charlotte as a way to get her anger out was difficult to watch. Lottie let her just brutalize her. This was the first time that I found Lottie to be more than a crazy person/sus character.
With Lotte, Natalie, Shauna, Van, Taissa, and Misty all together at the retreat, they seemed to have had a wonderful evening until Jeff called and dropped the bombshell that the police found the remains of Adam. I guess Misty is not as great at that as we thought.
Misty had a huge series of episodes too, as she inadvertently killed Crystal. Crystal fell off a cliff after Misty had confessed to destroying the plane’s black box. Then, Misty was having a major freak out during the birth of the baby with there being so much blood on her hands, literally. Misty came back to step up, but the baby still died.
We knew something was going to happen with this baby since we know that present day Shauna does not have a son, but it was still tough to watch.
Although, there is still a chance that everything that was going down in the wilderness is a dream-like state and that we do not know exactly what has happened. However, it does sound like whatever evil that was there in the wilderness with them found its way back to the real world with them. Why it is just now showing its ugly head, I don’t know.
I really thought Coach Ben was a goner too as he seemed ready to throw himself off the same cliff that Crystal fell off. Misty was there as well, but she seemingly got him to stop his suicidal tendencies. I still do not think he is long for the world, because we have not seen him in present day as of this moment.
We did meet present day Van though, which was great to see. Those who I have not seen in present day, I think they are dead. Van does admit to having cancer and only having a few months to live.
There are just three episodes left in season two, which has really picked up the pace recently.
Battlestar Galactica S3 E6, E7
Spoilers
“Torn”
“A Measure of Salvation”
A virus that can kill the Cylons is discovered aboard a ship. The Cylons discovered it first. Baltar went to investigate. He was told that if the infected Cylons were to die, and return to the resurrection ship, the virus would follow.
This set up this two episode story arc that dealt with the idea of some dark ideas, Specifically, genocide.
The show has never been about black and white. There are shades of gray everywhere on here. President Roslin has been showing those shades quite a bit recently as she approved the plan to try and destroy the entire Cylon race with the infected prisoners that they had brought back. Helo objected to the plan and wound up sabotaging it.
The concept behind the virus felt a little weird, and easily dismissed afterwards.
Highlights of these two episodes included:
- Baltar’s scenes of torture at the hands of Deanna.
- The continuing downfall of Kara and Saul from their experiences upon New Caprica.
- The announcement of the “Final Five” Cylons that have not yet been seen. That feels like a big time plot coming.
- The fact that they think they are on the right path for earth, but that the Cylons want earth too, as a place to start over.
- Lee got his abs back. Easier than it was for Fat Thor.
Yellowjackets S2 E3
Spoilers
“Digestif”
When Natalie had taken the remains of the recently consumed Jackie back to the airplane crash site, I swore I saw a polar bear walk out of the woods. It was one more connection to LOST for me, and I was definitely surprised. Turned out that it was not a polar bear but an all-white moose that apparently has some kind of power. I still think this can be tied to LOST.
Of course, the Island would always provide for the survivors on LOST so they never felt the need to eat each other. Last episode’s cannibalism was disturbing, as was some of the resulting actions in response. A baby shower? That was bizarre. I also love the comment they keep using to justify their actions, “This is what she would have wanted.” She would have wanted to be eaten? Hmm, feels a little exaggerated.
I really do not think coach is long for the world. He is having delusions that he chose to stay behind and not go on the plane. I think he might be the next on the menu.
Misty teaming up with Elijah Wood was fun, in order to interrogate Randy. This pairing is odd, but somehow appropriate for them both.
And there is just no way around it… Shauna is a bad ass. The way she disarmed that carjacker and then took that gun and stared down the criminal at the chop shop was amazing. Her description of peeling back the skin of a human was cold and brutal. I don’t blame that guy for folding. If I were Kevyn, I would be careful investigating Shauna over the death of Adam.
We are coming closer to the man with no eyes as Taissa’s sleepwalking is in overdrive. We are returning to the mysterious symbol and I expect that this will be more important over the next several episodes. It is clearly tied to the overall mythology of this series.
The X-Files S7 E6
Spoilers
“The Goldberg Variation”
“Luck isn’t a superpower…” said Deadpool to Domino in Deadpool 2. Well, we saw in that flick that it absolutely was. Longshot would also disagree with that assumption.
It seems that Fox Mulder would be in that camp too as Mulder and Scully come across a man who was thrown out of a window of a 300+ story building, falling to his apparent doom, only to walk away practically unscathed (he did have a bruise on his elbow).
“The Goldberg Variation” introduced us to the character of Henry Weems, who appeared to have the most amazing luck in the world, while people around him had to suffer to keep the balance. Cause-and-effect, as Mulder said.
This is a “monster-of-the week” episode where a sad sack individual has something weird or paranormal about them and have to spend time with Mulder and Scully. We see the same idea in Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose from season three, only that turned out more tragic than this one did.
Henry Weems got himself in trouble with the mob by getting involved in a poker game and winning big. The whole gangster part of the episode was a bit far, but I did like the overall end for the plot. It was nice having Henry connected to the boy in the building who needed a transplant. I thought from the beginning that Henry would wind up being the person who would be compatible as an organ donor and that he would die at the end to save the kid.
However, making it one of the gangsters was a nice twist, subverting the expectation of the trope. It also worked nicely with the theme of the episode.
Emilia Pérez
I had heard this was an Oscar favorite. With it now on Netflix, I was excited to give it a chance. I was not expecting what I saw.
First, this was mostly in Spanish. I guess I should have guessed that from the title, but I did not.
Second, it was a musical. Simply did not see that coming.
According to IMDB, “Mexico, today. Overqualified and exploited, lawyer Rita is wasting her talents working for a large firm far better at whitewashing criminal garbage than serving justice. But an unexpected way out appears, the sort of offers you can’t refuse : to help feared cartel boss Juan “Little Hands” Del Monte – aka Manitas – retire from his business and disappear forever. Manitas has a plan he’s been fine-tuning in secret for years : to become, at last, the woman he’s always dreamed of becoming.”
The performers were spectacular in this movie. Zoe Saldana was Rita, the lawyer who was brought in as a way to help Manitas, played by Karla Sofía Gascón. Selena Gomez played Manitas’ wife, Jessi. All three of these performers were sensational. And they all did a tremendous job with the music/songs.
The movie was 2 and a 1/2 hours long, but it absolutely did not feel like it. The film flew by. In fact, when it came to its dramatic conclusion, I was looking at the clock wondering how this could be over already. That means this long film was paced brilliantly or else you are going to feel that passage of time.
French director Jacques Audiard creates a wonderful film, bringing out some of the best performances of the year while handling a topic that can be divisive with a deft touch. The story is not the controversy. The story is the emotions and feelings that it elicits. Emilia Pérez is top notch work that caught me off guard.
4.4 stars
Silo S2 E1
Spoilers
“The Engineer”
Apple TV + series Silo returned for its second season. The first season was an unexpected treat when it first came out on Apple TV + so I was excited to see what a second season had in store for us.
Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) who was sent out of the silo in the first season finale, set up by those in power to get rid of her, went walking across the outside world. She discovered that there were more silos than the one that she came from. As she went to the nearest one, she had to walk through a field littered with skeletons and rotting corpses, belonging to a group of people we saw at the episode’s beginning, who were forcing their way out of their silo in a revolution. A revolution that did not go well. Looks like the air is toxic after all.
As Juliette entered the next silo, she discovered that it was abandoned and run down. She went into the silo, exploring the structure as we got flashbacks of Juliette as a child, learning to work the recycle center.
The episode had a ton of tension and nervous energy as Juliette made her way through the darkness and decay of this silo, picking up on signs as she went. Part of the reason these scenes were as unnerving as they were was that most of the episode was silent. Except for the flashbacks, of course, most of Juliette’s time in the silo contained little to no dialogue.
That is, of course, until she heard that music playing and went to find a big vault door, which she tried to open. Failing, she was ready to leave when she heard a man speak to her, telling her that he understood why she tried to open the door, but if she tried it again, he would kill her.
For me, I would say, sure thing… no problem… enjoy your life in there. I get a feeling that Juliette is not going to just let this guy live his life behind steel doors. Or at least her curiosity will get the better of her. Who is this guy and why did he respond to her in such a way?
We did not see any of the characters from the original silo we had been introduced to in season one, but there was plenty of story taking place here to satisfy. A solid season premiere from a solid sci-fi show that more people should know about.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 